Saturday, August 31, 2013

Call the Congress Back NOW

Secretary of State John Kerry, in a very Presidential speech, went on TV to tell us that Assad's Syria committed crimes against humanity when they killed more than 1,400 of their own people with chemical weapons. Kerry went on to say that it is in the Vital Interests of the United States to act to deter Syria and Iran, their patron, from doing even more heinous crimes. OK, that all could make sense.

But, a day later, apparently with no sense of urgency, incompetent Socialist President Obama went on TV telling us he has the power to act to fire those cruise missiles as Commander In Chief; but that he will seek the approval of Congress when they return from vacation on September 9 to do so.Then, this tone deaf President, along with Vice President Joe Biden, went off and played golf; just unbelievable.

Which is it. If Kerry said it was in our Vital Interest to act, then why the hell is Obama going to Congress for a vote days away when the President said he has the authority to act unilaterally. Obama's foreign policy is simply incoherent and confusing.

Historical precedent indicates that the President could act unilaterally; but this Blogger is pleased that for once Obama is falling back on the Constitution to involve Congress, most particularly because the Power of the Purse to spend the money to implement this military action resides with Congress. However, Obama is doing all of this for political reasons, not common sense. Since he has no allies behind him, except maybe France (TBD), Obama does not want to go it alone going into the 2014 Congressional elections.

Obama wants Congress on record, one way or another. But, what if Congress says No to military action, which is feasible, as happened in Britain. It will make Obama look even weaker and more incompetent than he already looks around the world and that will be dangerous. Obama drew a red line in the sand, however misdirected that may prove to be. Now, Obama has to act, or he will look like a paper tiger to countries like Iran, North Korea, Russia and China and again that is very dangerous. If Congress says No and then Obama goes ahead and attacks Syria anyway, it will precipitate a Constitutional crisis. Obama continues to demonstrate his lack of experience at every turn.

Look, Obama should ask the leaders of Congress to call the Congress back into Session NOW and not wait until September 9. Waiting is giving Dictator Assad time to hide, or bury weapons, or even get them out of the country to Iran. If Obama does eventually order the firing of those cruise missiles, which is inevitable one way or another, the impact will be minimal and a waste of time and money. Further, there are other issues requiring immediate Congressional debate and action like the Debt Ceiling, ObamaCare and the Budget for next year.

This is going to be a major battle in Congress and it is time sensitive. The federal government is going to run out of money, or spending authority in the next month. Obama should forget about going to the G20 meeting next week for fun and photos. We have all these issues on the table that are too pressing for the President to be away until September 6. Aside from dealing with Syria, the time to act on all of these issues in NOW.